Speaking at the launch of Belfrics Kenya’s Bitcoin Exchange on Saturday at the Villa Rosa Kempinski, in Nairobi, Kenya, he explained that even though there has been little talk of blockchain in agriculture, the sector stands to benefits immensely from the technology.

Mr Kimani Mbugua, CEO of Greenspec, a Kenya Agro-Processing company has stated that the blockchain technology has the potential to transform agriculture tremendously.

Speaking at the launch of Belfrics Kenya’s Bitcoin Exchange on Saturday at the Villa Rosa Kempinski, in Nairobi, Kenya, he explained that even though there has been little talk of blockchain in agriculture, the sector stands to benefits immensely from the technology.

Kimani, who is also well known in Kenya for promoting soya and conservation agriculture outlined sectors that can be transformed by the blockchain.

He said:

The blockchain application has huge potential in three key areas of Agriculture which consist of Real Time Management, Supply Chain and Mobile Payment and Financing.

Mr. Kimani Mbugua Speaking At The Launch Of Belfrics Kenya

Food Chain Supply

He elaborated that consumer demand for clean food and radical transparency in the food chain including organic, which many people are moving onto these days, are skyrocketing. However, producers and manufacturers are often struggling to verify the exact accuracy of data from the farm to the table.

He remarked:

But with the blockchain, you’ll be able to know from the label what and how they used to produce the food when you buy it and they can never shortcut you.

He decried the current phenomenon where there are no easier and accurate means to verify the exact origin of commodities by manufacturers and issues like slave labour and pollution.

The agriculture expert holds that irrespective of the shortfall, consumers within rich markets like organic food are increasingly prepared to pay for products that provide such information. He was of the view that today’s solutions that revolve around certification and regulation which add cost are tedious to enforce and confusing to customers.

He added:

The value of the blockchain here is its ability to make the supply chain entirely transparent and rich with the immutable provision of data from farm to the dining table. The blockchain will ensure that participants along the supply chain can’t temper with this information.

Ultimately, Kimani maintains the process provide confidence to manufacturers and consumers where the food comes from and how it is produced. He was therefore upbeat about the role of the blockchain in agriculture.

Belfrics in Africa

Addressing the bitcoin community at the function, Praveen Kumar, CEO of Belfrics Global, revealed that the company will be opening bitcoin exchanges across the African continent in the coming months. According to Praveen, his outfit has been convinced to make that decision as the result of the volumes that came out of the trial test in the Kenyan market.

The company, which is based in Malaysia, but with bitcoin exchanges in India, Singapore and now Kenya will enter the Nigeria, Ghana and Botswana market in the coming months. This is a good omen for adoption in Africa since the so-called dark continent lacks infrastructure like this to enable buying and selling of the cryptocurrency.

]]>https://bahrain.belfrics.com/2018/08/27/blockchain-will-revolutionize-agriculture-and-food-supply-chain/feed/0Bitcoin exchange Belfrics soon to have an ICO for its upcoming Belrium blockchainhttps://bahrain.belfrics.com/2018/08/20/bitcoin-exchange-belfrics-soon-to-have-an-ico-for-its-upcoming-belrium-blockchain/
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In an interview with Moneycontrol, Praveen Kumar, Chairman and CEO of the company said it is coming up with its own blockchain, named Belrium, in the month of September, the token for which will be called BEL.

Malaysia-based bitcoin exchange Belfrics is soon to come out with an initial coin offering (ICO).

In an interview with Moneycontrol, Praveen Kumar, Chairman and CEO of the company, said it is coming up with its own blockchain, named Belrium, in the month of September, the token for which will be called BEL.

Kumar said that the blockchain will have an inbuilt KYC system and it will be similar to Ethereum as it will be based on smart contracts.

The interdisciplinary committee finalising a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency trade in India has no representation from the stakeholders or players in the segment.

Ten-member committee

The 10-member committee, which is headed by Subhas Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, comprises officials from the Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Financial Services, Department of Revenue (CBDT), Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Reserve Bank of India, NITI Aayog and State Bank of India to decide on the fate of cryptocurrency in the country.

Industry players such as Zebpay, Unocoin, Belfrics, and WazirX, among others, have expressed disappointment over the committee’s move to work on a framework without having any representation from the industry.

“That’s the saddest part as the inclusion of fintech and crypto exchange players would have made the proposal competitive and workable,” said Praveen Kumar, CEO, Belfrics, a leading cryptoexchange.

Gopal Modi, founder of another exchange called CoinRecoil, said the company’s legal firm Khaitan and Khaitan had raised the issue (of exchanges not having a representation in the committee) in the Supreme Court, to which the apex court had asked crypto players to send their respective recommendations to the RBI.

“However, the RBI has not reverted on the recommendations. Besides, how can a committee not have a single voice from the industry?” asked Modi, who moved the Supreme Court in May this year over the RBI’s decision to bar banking institutions from dealing with cryptocurrencies. According to sources, the committee has also not asked for any formal recommendations from crypto players, mostly exchanges dealing with trading of Bitcoins, Ethereum and other Altcoins.

But the crypto and blockchain arm of IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India) met with individual members of the committee to discuss the importance of blockchain and future of cryptocurrencies in the country and globally.

“We have met the committee members individually and made recommendations on how to regulate cryptos. The problem is the government is not acting fast to resolve the issues related to the legality of Bitcoins in India,” said Ajeet Khurana, CEO, Zebpay.

Khurana said that the committee is most likely to come up with its report before September 11, when the final hearing on the petition filed by various exchanges against the RBI would be heard in the Supreme Court.

“The committee has called us for a meeting before making the report public,” Khurana said without disclosing the date.

Khurana said that during the previous meeting, IAMAI, through its recommendations, had explained to the committee the manner in which liberal democracies have approached the issues related to cryptocurrencies, and the way they are working with the existing payment ecosystem.

“For any crypto to function in a legal way, it has to co-exist with the traditional payment paradigm. Only then, cryptos can be traceable,” Khurana said, adding that even after the banking system has officially disengaged with the crypto exchanges, the ecosystem is thriving on the peer-to-peer channel, which is not traceable. “It is ingrained in the ecosystem.”

Belfrics announced on Tuesday that it has resume trading operations in India. It claims to be“India’s fastest growing cryptocurrency exchange and blockchain development platforms.” According to the exchange, it has added four new coins to its platform: bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH), ripple (XRP), and litecoin (LTC). Before then, only BTC was available. The company plans to launch 20 new cryptocurrencies in the next 6 months.

The COO of Belfrics Group, Jabeer KM, said: “India is a key market for us when it comes to crypto trading. With the launch of these new coins, we are targeting a base of at least 2,500,000 new traders on our platform by December 2018.”

“A dedicated app for live order-book trading of various altcoins,” was also launched by the exchange. Santhosh Palavesh, the group’s Chief Innovation Officer, explained that “traders can now securely link their assets with our Belfrics wallet…The new app will be available for both Android and iOS users.”

Belfrics Group was founded in 2014 and its headquarters is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It operates crypto exchanges in Malaysia, Singapore, Bahrain, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and India. The company’s development center is in the Indian city of Bengaluru. Traders will be able to enjoy crypto-to-crypto trading on its platform from this month.

Inc42 described that Belfrics had to suspend its crypto exchange operations in India in early January after the banks stopped providing payments solutions to the company. Praveenkumar Vijayakumar, Belfrics Group’s founder and CEO, told the news outlet at the time that “Many payment service providers (PSP) [in India] have stopped giving services to [crypto] exchanges.”

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued circular banning banks and financial institutions under its control from providing services to crypto companies. This was last April. The CEO told Indian news service that, “Before taking this decision, industry participants were not consulted, public debates were not initiated and public opinion polls were not undertaken. Even the findings of the committee were not published.” The central bank has admitted that the ban was issued without proper research.

Jabber KM elaborated on RBI’s ban in Tuesday’s announcement: “We understand that the RBI has reservations on trading in cryptocurrencies and digital currencies. But we are confident that they will be coming up with their own set of regulations for this industry. From our end, we are making sure that Belfrics Group is ready with multiple options for our Indian customers when crypto trading becomes regularized.”

Crypto industry participants have petitioned with the Supreme court to challenge the ban since it was issued.

The supreme court has agreed to hear the cases on July 3, earlier than the previously scheduled date: July 20. The ban is supposed to be effective as from July 5.

A cryptocurrency exchange in India has resumed trading services some five months after its operations came to a standstill early this year. On Tuesday, Belfrics announced that it has also added four more cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin Cash, Ether, Ripple and Litecoin—to its platform.

Belfricshalted its operations back in January after banks stopped providing payment solutions to the exchange. At the time, CEO Praveenkumar Vijayakumar told Inc42 that their decision was made after “many payment service providers (PSP) stopped giving services to exchanges” in the country.

Things got worse for Belfrics and other cryptocurrency exchanges in India after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) banned all banks and financial institutions from providing services to cryptocurrency companies. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India admitted that the ban on exchanges was rushed without proper research on the matter.

Jabeer KM, COO of Kuala Lumpur-based Belfrics Group, said the company resumed its operations despite RBI reservations because they believe that RBI will soon regularize crypto trade. He further added that their move to resume operations is in preparation for the anticipated regulations towards legalizing crypto trade in India.

In addition to BTC, Belfrics customers are also able to trade BCH, ETH, XRP, and LTC on the platform. Belfrics also plans to add 20 more coins on its platform in the next six months. Jabeer also added that the company plans to increase its clientele to at least 2,500,000 new traders by the end of 2018.Belfrics customers will also enjoy peer-to-peer trading on the platform.

Whether the ban will be lifted or not remains to be the decision of the SupremeCourt on July 3. The hearing date had been scheduled for July 20 but was moved up to July 3, two days before the RBI ban takes effect on July 5. Exchanges in India are eagerly waiting for the outcome of the case.

The Central Bank of Bahrain has awarded bitcoin technology provider, Belfrics Global, a sandbox license to open and operate a cryptocurrency exchange in the Arabian Gulf nation. As such, Belfrics is reported to have become the first company to receive an official mandate to open a cryptocurrency exchange in the Middle Eastern/North African region.

Central Bank of Bahrain Grants Sandbox License to Belfrics

Malaysian-based cryptocurrency technology provider, Belfrics Global, has successfully received a mandate from Bahrain’s central bank to open a cryptocurrency exchange in the nation. The approval granted by the central bank of Bahrain is expected to give Belfrics access to the $50 billion USD digital transaction industry of the Middle Eastern/North African nation.

The Chairman and CEO of Belfrics Global, Mr. Praveen Kumar Vijayakumar, has welcomed the sandbox licensing, stating “We are excited to receive this approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) as it provides access to a $50 billion digital transaction market in the MENA region alone. This is a first of many licenses that we are targeting for the year 2018. Bahrain is an ideal region for us to showcase our cryptocurrency-based payment systems, and with the help of CBB and other central banks, we will be able to implement our identity management solutions using the Belrium Blockchain pretty soon.” Jabeer KM, Belfrics’ Chief Operating Officer, described the approval as “a perfect start for the year 2018,” adding, “We are also working closely with central banks in Africa, Middle East and Asia to regulate the cryptocurrency space using our innovative KYC-based blockchain, Belrium.”

Belfrics Expands International Operations

The news comprises a follow-up to announcements from Bahrain’s government in September 2017 that indicated the country’s intention to develop ‘sandbox’ legislation for the cryptocurrency, industryakin, to those enacted by Singapore and the United Kingdom. Alongside the announcement, Khalid Al Rumaihi, the chief executive of the Economic Development Board of Bahrain, then indicated the country’s desire to issue bonds via distributed ledger technology. The move has been perceived as intended to further Bahrain’s bid to become a regional fintech hub, despite the nation’s small population.

Founded in 2014, the Kuala Lumpur-based company presently operates in Singapore, India, Kenya, China, Indonesia, Malaysia Dubai and Hong Kong, in addition to providing point of sale (POS) and other payment technology to merchants wanting to accept cryptocurrency as a method of payment. Belfrics’ Singaporean exchange comprises what it describes as a ‘global exchange’ that provides cryptocurrency pairings using USD as its base currency, whilst the company’s other exchanges are described as ‘local’ – exclusively offering pairings in the national currency for the country in which the exchange is domiciled. Belfrics has also indicated its intention to expand its African presence by opening exchanges based in Nigeria, Botswana, and Ghana.

Belfrics Group has resumed its trading operations in India. With Four New Cryptocurrencies,The Belfrics Group Aims To Add 250 K Traders By December.

Despite the RBI’s circular banning banks, payments companies and NBFCs from dealing with cryptocurrency entities and the matter being under subjudice, dozens of crypto companies are about to launch their operations in India. Now, Malaysia-based cryptocurrency company Belfrics Group has resumed its trading operations in India.

There goes India’s cryptocurrency market. The Reserve Bank of India banned banks from allowing people to transfer money from their bank account into Bitcoin wallets.

If banks, e-wallets and any other entities regulated by RBI are not allowed to facilitate sale or purchase of cryptocurrencies, individuals will not be able to transfer money from any bank account in India into a Bitcoin wallet like Bitpay, nor will they be able to fund purchases of cryptocurrencies on an exchange. They’d have to figure out a way to pay people in cash, meaning if there is a Bitcoin market in India, it is going to move underground.

India is not a huge market for crypto, so Bitcoin was down only 2% today and probably not due to the RBI’s announcement. China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan and the U.S. are the biggest markets for cryptocurrencies.

Investors in these new digital assets have been waiting for the next big thing, but have been stuck with what one investor calls “mediocre coins from mediocre startups.” The market needs something new following last year’s run-in in Bitcoin and other top cryptocurrencies like Ether.

China has kept its ban on Bitcoin exchanges and initial coin offerings (ICO). And while India is not a big player, it just serves as a reminder of the headwinds the industry faces. This is keeping out short-term investors.

Belfrics Global, a Bitcoin technology provider and a trading platform, has launched cryptocurrency exchanges in Nigeria. The launch of Belfrics Nigeria made it the second in Africa where the company is running Bitcoin exchanges.

Founded in 2014, the company presently operates in Singapore, India, Kenya, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Dubai and Hong Kong.

Speaking at the launch of Belfrics Nigeria weekend in Abuja, Praveen Kumar, Chairman and CEO of Belfrics Global, said the company was in Nigeria to change the database management of public and private operations, using the Blockchain technology.

According to him by adopting the Blockchain technology, government agencies and private organizations would find it easier to bring transparency into their system.

Blockchain is a public record of transactions. “By deploying the Blockchain technology, you are able to achieve transparency in your operations,” he added.

He said the Malaysian-based Bitcoin technology provider is working closely with regulators, while its target audience included government organisations, banks, payment service providers, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), educational institutions and private individuals.

]]>https://bahrain.belfrics.com/2018/03/19/firm-launches-bitcoin-exchanges-in-nigeria/feed/0AP govt signs MoU with Belfrics to set up Blockchain academy with GITAM in Visakhapatnamhttps://bahrain.belfrics.com/2018/03/16/ap-govt-signs-mou-with-belfrics-to-set-up-blockchain-academy-with-gitam-in-visakhapatnam/
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In another thrust towards making Visakhapatnam a technology hub, the Andhra Pradesh government has inked a pact with Belfrics, a fast-growing blockchain development firm, to set up a blockchain academy in the city in association with GITAM University. The university is expected to promote the disruptive technology in Visakhapatnam and use its applications in several government operations.

Special Chief Secretary and IT Advisor to Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, JA Chowdary, while welcoming Belfrics to Visakhapatnam, said, “The government is also looking to provide the Proof of Concept (POC) for implementing blockchain technology in supply chain logistics, tender issuance and bidding”.

Praveenkumar Vijayakumar, founder of Belfrics Global said the company was expecting a 300% growth in its vertical in 2018. He further informed that the company was signing MoUs with the governments of other states as well to offer similar services.

“We are looking at penetrating the Indian market by developing innovative blockchain based solutions across Industries. We believe this will help us reach our revenue targets of Rs 100 crore by 2020. We will also be looking at hiring 100 blockchain developers in India as well as in Malaysia,” Jabeer K.M., chief operating officer, Belfrics Group, was quoted as saying.

Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh government also signed a pact with New York-based ConsenSys to promote the blockchain ecosystem in the state. It was also reportedthat the state and ConsenSys will work together to set up the first Indian cohort of ConsenSys Education.